Orbital // Preview

Almost every ‘successful’ musical artist will have a point in their career when they are faced with a decision: stick rigidly to the formula that has brought you success thus far and risk becoming a relic destined for the record shop’s bargain bucket, or trust in your ability to evolve your sound to either push or keep up with current trends.

No bracket of musicians suffers this more than electronic dance artists, as its timbral evolution is often defined by new advancements in technology. This has engendered a sort of ‘adapt or die’ ethos in many of its longer-lasting ambassadors, and those that truly achieve lasting success are the ones that have rolled with as many punches as the industry has thrown at them.

Orbital, of course, are one (or two to be more precise) example of this philosophy in action. Having successfully navigated every pitfall provided by a constantly-evolving scene for the last three decades, the Hartnoll brothers are now embarking on a worldwide tour. This is in support of their well-received ninth studio album, Monsters Exist, another example of the pair’s ability to stay relevant without losing that blissed-out, stadium-filling ethereal sound that was cemented into the musical canon with their first two (now legendary) LPs.

Bringing their revered audio-visual live experience to the O2 academy this Sunday, the sold-out crowd are no doubt already excitedly imagining the rapturous state that will befall them come the weekend.